JCPL Teens

FEBRUARY 28, 2013

New Teen Lucky Day Titles

Have you checked out any Lucky Day items yet? Don’t forget, we bought a couple extra copies of our most popular items that don’t go out on holds, so it’s worth a look to see what you might find. Here are a few of the new teen titles to look for:

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer: This is the sequel to Cinder (also a Lucky Day title!). Scarlet and Wolf, a street fighter who may have information about her missing grandmother, join forces with Cinder as they try to stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen in this story inspired by Little Red Riding Hood.

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger: In an alternate England of 1851, spirited fourteen-year-old Sophronia is enrolled in a finishing school where she is suprised to learn that lessons include not only the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also diversion, deceit, and espionage.

Beautiful Creatures by by Kami Garcia & Margie Stohl: Have you seen the movie yet? In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman: This one takes place in a world where dragons and humans coexist in an uneasy truce. Seraphina, whose mother died giving birth to her, grapples with her own identity amid magical secrets and royal scandals, while she struggles to accept and develop her extraordinary musical talents.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: Queenie, code name Verity, is captured by the Nazi’s in France and is tortured and forced to tell her secrets.

Don’t know where the Lucky Day shelves are at your favorite library? Just ask!

Did you see the movie/read the book Life of Pi? Want to read some other books that give you a good sense of Indian culture and life? Try some of these great reads:

Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck Seventeen-year-old Oregon teenager Kelsey forms a bond with a circus tiger who is actually one of two brothers, Indian princes Ren and Kishan, who were cursed to live as tigers for eternity. She travels with him to India where the tiger's curse may be broken once and for all.

Karma by Cathy Ostlere After her mother's suicide, Maya and her Sikh father travel to New Delhi from Canada to place her mother's ashes in their final resting place. On the night of their arrival, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated. Maya and her father are separated when the city erupts in chaos, and Maya must rely on Sandeep, a boy she has just met, for survival.

Anila's Journey by Mary Finn In late eighteenth-century Calcutta, half-Indian half-Irish Anila Tandy finds herself alone with nothing but her artistic talent to rely on, searching for her father who is presumed dead.

Climbing Stairs by Padma Venkatraman In India, in 1941, when her father becomes brain-damaged in a non-violent protest march, fifteen-year-old Vidya and her family are forced to move in with her father's extended family and become accustomed to a totally different way of life.

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier Dimple, whose family is from India, discovers that she is not Indian enough for the Indians and not American enough for the Americans. Where does she fit in when she is constantly pulled between these two opposing cultures?

At last! The long wait is over! The second book, following Cinder, in The Lunar Chronicles is here and it does not disappoint! Meyer has a really accessible writing style and this novel is fast paced with engaging characters. There's also a nice re-imagining of the Little Red Riding Hood tale just for good measure.

In this installment Cinder's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust the stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Scarlet has a long hold list but it is well worth the wait. It is also one of our Lucky Day titles so check the library when you are here and see if you get lucky!

Mark this under ‘soon to be a movie’ and keep it close to your heart… Okay, I admit, I’m not a raging vampire-love-story-with-werewolf-as-added-complications sort of reader. BUT I looooves me a good alien-invasion story – and this one promises to have some fun twists in it!

For starters, what could be more fun than a love triangle with three personalities but only two bodies? Yup! It’s COMPLICATED!

Set to be released March 29, 2013, The Host could be the gooey, gory, thrilling Science Fiction romance of Spring we’ve been waiting for! Check out the trailer below.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - Don’t let the hold list frighten you, we’ll soon have Lucky Day copies of this title for check out. Scarlet is the anticipated follow-up to Cinder – a fractured fairytale with a scifi twist. Cinder is a cyborg and it was one of the best books of 2012!

Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger - Yea! We’re getting Lucky Day copies ofthis title too! From the book cover - It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Hot Blooded by Nancy Holder - The second book in the Wolf Springs Chronicle finds Katelyn’s adjusting to life as a werewolf and continuing in her search to find the animal that’s been murdering innocent people.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys - Starred Reviews for this historical fiction book set in 1950’s New Orleans. Josie, 17, dreams of attending college and leaving the life of her mother, a prostitute in the French Quarter, when she becomes embroiled in a murder investigation.

Prodigy by Marie Lu - In the second book of the Legend series, June and Day join forces with a Patriot group. In order to find Day’s brother they must assassinate the new Elector.

Kiss (Witch and Wizard) by James Patterson - Wisty finds herself at odds with Whit when she must make a choice between a beautiful boy she cares for and joining her brother to overthrow an evil King.

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne - Barnaby was born with the ability to float! His parents make him hide his talent until one beautiful afternoon his mother decides to let him live a little. Thus begins Barnaby’s adventure that takes him all over the world and outer space. From the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Looking for a job? Jeffco YouthWorks is hosting a Young Adult Job Fair on Tuesday, March 5, at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Teens and young adults ages 14 to 21 can meet face-to-face with employers, attend a job readiness workshop, and explore career possibilities in emerging industries.

Attendees must pre-register by Friday, March 1st at the YouthWorks website. You can get one-on-one assistance to prepare for the job fair at the Jeffco YouthWorks Youth Room in Golden. For more information, call 303-271-4613 or email jeffcoyouthworks@jeffco.us.

Good news, Overachievers! There is someone ready to help you brighten up your academic skill set so that you shine like the star you are meant to be!

Arvada Library has managed to procure for your intellectual enhancement our very own AmeriCorps Homework Help volunteer, Brian! Yay, Brian!

Every Wednesday from 5 -7pm Brian will be available for tutoring in math, science, English and writing. Just stop in at either the Children’s or Adult Reference desks and find the answers to your Homework woes.

Set in the not-too-distant future, Robopocalypse describes a world in which robots have made our lives a lot easier – they fight our wars, clean our homes, and drive our cars. Then, under the control of a childlike yet sinister artificial intelligence called Archos, the robots turn against humanity in a terrifying and bloody attack known as Zero Hour. A group of international survivors – including a Japanese scientist, a London hacker, and a cop on an Oklahoma Indian reservation – stage an inventive counterattack in this action-packed thriller. The author, Daniel H. Wilson, has a PhD in robotics, so the story is full of astonishing technical detail. His latest novel, Amped, is also available. Fans of World War Z and other dystopian thrillers should give this one a try!

Pollia Condensata has been declared the shiniest fruit on earth by the National Academy of Scientists. Most living things on earth reflect color by pigment but some things, like peacock feathers and scarab beetles, reflect light by structural means. In the case of Pollia the cellulose structures of the cell walls reflect blue light, thus giving them the shiny blue appearance. They don't have any nutritional value for humans but birds eat them because they are very eye catching. Because the color is produced by the cellular structure it does not fade after the plant has been picked. Each individual cell reflects the blue light thus making them appear glittery.

These plants are found in Africa in forested regions.

Maybe this fruit can lend scientific credibility to the shiny vampires of Twilight?

Trapped inside a chain superstore by an apocalyptic sequence of natural and human disasters, six high school kids from various popular and unpopular social groups struggle for survival while protecting a group of younger children.

OMG! OMG! OMG!

Ok. Look. By the middle of the second page I was in it to win it with this book. Not sure if it’s the locality of the story (Colorado Springs), if it’s the ages of the characters (first graders through high school) or if it is the crazy-non-stop-tell-me-this-can-not-ever-happen-here--WHAT!?-it-might-happen-next-week-OMG! aspect that made this so riveting for me, but… HOLY COW.

I’ll tell you what, though… my new end of the world survival plan includes a Super Target now. ‘Nuff said.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is one step closer to being turned into a movie. Disney is talking with director Ron Howard about turning the book into a live-action movie (not a stop-motion film like they originally intended). The Graveyard Book is the story of a boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard after both his parents are murdered. Have you read it? Do you think it would make a good movie? I'm going to think about that while I read it again!

You know that moment when you sit down to do your math homework and realize that everything that made perfect sense in class is now completely baffling?

HelpNow! to the rescue. It's online tutoring, paid for by the library and the Jeffco Workforce Center, just for you. The tutors are trained in their subject areas and are available 2-11 pm everyday. And it's just like texting or instant messaging; you type back and forth, so no need to change out of your jammies!

To get to HelpNow!, start at jeffcolibrary.org. Select Research Tools (the blue face), then Subscription Databases A-Z and look for H for HelpNow!.

February is African American History Month. In celebration of this event here are a few great African American scientists:

George Washington Carver- From cosmetics to gasoline, Carver found more uses for the peanut than you might imagine. Carver moved around quite a bit as a youth and often did a variety of odd jobs. With this well-rounded education, both practical and from formal colleges like Simpson and the Agricultural College in Ames Iowa, he used his knowledge of chemistry and agriculture to try to improve the situation for poor southern farmers.

Percy Lavon Julian - Julian discovered a method to extract hormones and steroids from plants. This discovery brought the cost of medicine down significantly and helped with everything from relieving glaucoma to helping with fertility. He also invented a fire fighting foam that was used in World War II.

Annie J. Easly - Best known for her work on the NASA Centaur rocket project, Easly joined NASA at the beginning of the space age. She wrote computer code that evaluated substitute power technologies, helped launch Centaur, identified wind, solar and other energy projects for NACA (now called NASA). She also helped invent other systems to solve energy problems.

Join us at 1p.m. this Saturday, February 9th at the Arvada Library for another round of Read It / See It – a Young Adult Book Group / Movie event.

This week we will be discussing thebookTwilight by Stephenie Meyer. Then we shall watch a movie based on this book and briefly discuss which version we like better. Did the movie capture the tension, the passion, the sparklyness? Or, did it make you long to lose yourself in the book again?

And remember, it’s the Annual CHOCOLATE AFFAIR in Olde Town Arvada that day – so come to the festival, grab some chocolate and then fall in love all over again.

Join us after-hours at the Evergreen Library this Friday, February 8, for a movie and book safe crafts. We'll create book safes with hidden compartments and watch an animated film featuring a feisty, big-haired princess, a Clydesdale, and a clumsy bear. Can't guess the movie title? Call the Evergreen Library at 303-235-5275 and we'll tell you.

When Shelby’s mother died six years ago, Shelby promised her she would “love as much as possible” and live “without restraint.” She also promised to love and listen to her father, which is proving a challenge now that Dad has signed 16-year-old Shelby up for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live a pure life – no smoking, drinking, or premarital sex. In order to keep all her promises, Shelby exploits a loophole and commits to losing her virginity before the Princess Ball.

While the premise may sound like a commentary on the abstinence movement, it’s not: Purity is a funny, touching story about self-discovery. Between failed hookup attempts (which make for some hilarious moments), hanging out with her two best friends, and helping her dad plan the Princess Ball, Shelby figures out what the promises to her mother really meant.

When Megan's military parents get sent to South Korea Megan ends up staying with some family friends who have seven wild, grubby, and downright mean sons. At least, that's how she remembers them from when she last saw them seven years ago. She decides to use her new home as an opportunity to study them and learn everything she needs to know about boys. She writes her observations down in a guide to share with her best friend. Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian is a fun read and you'll enjoy following Megan as she creates her own identity in a house of seven boys, and learns that some of those boys may turn out to be a little more interesting than she anticipated.

The first image has come out from the making of the Ender's Game movie. Colonel Graff, played by Harrison Ford, and Ender, played by Hugo's Asa Butterfield, are facing off over an argument about whether email is being sent home to families or blocked.

The book is about the Earth preparing for the impending second attack from aliens. The military recruits and trains children to ensure they'll have officers able to protect the world. Ender is frighteningly promising. If you were okay with the violence in The Hunger Games trilogy, I highly recommend Ender's Game. Place your hold now, before the movie comes out and the book is impossible to get!

A black light emits ultra violet light waves at the very end of the visible spectrum. The UVA light from a black light has longer wave lengths than most visible light. Don't tan under a black light as these longer waves penetrate further into the skin and may produce hydroxyl and oxygen radicals, aka skin cancer. It would take a lot of time under a black light to get cancer. Sir Isaac Newton first explained the idea of a light spectrum in his book Opticks written in the 18th Century.

The great thing about a black light is looking at different objects. Anything white will appear to glow. Tonic water will glow blue under a black light. The quinine in tonic water reflects the UVA light. Many bodily fluids contain florescent materials and will also glow under a black light. Forensic scientists use black light to detect blood at crime scenes. If you crush a Vitamin B-12 tablet and dissolve it in vinegar it will glow yellow. An empire scorpion will glow blue-green under a black light. Maybe a blacklight is a good survival tool for the desert? Canola oil will also glow under a black light. Chlorophyll will glow red.

Do you have a black light handy? What have you found that glows in UVA light?

I gotta admit, I've always been a Batman fan. Dark, tortured, mysterious...and most of all a regular man. Batman doesn't have super powers, he just works for it! Superman just never appealed to me. I find him kind of boring quite frankly. But I was pretty stoked when I saw the trailer for Man of Steel, the new Superman movie coming out this year. Superman...cool? Who would've thought? Check out the trailer and tell us your thoughts!

And there are SOME good Superman books out there. Check them out at one of our libraries:

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